Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup)

This boiling hot ginseng chicken soup, called samgyetang (삼계탕), is an iconic summer dish in Korea. Sam (삼) refers to ginseng (insam, 인삼), gye (계) means chicken, and tang (탕) is soup. It’s extremely popular as a nourishing food which helps fight the summer heat. As the Korean saying goes, eating the hot soup is “fighting the heat with heat.”

On sambok (삼복) days, it’s a Korean tradition to eat foods that are healthy and restorative. Samgyetang is a popular choice. Sambok days are 3 distinct days that mark the hottest summer period. Based on the lunar calendar, they are chobok (초복, beginning), jungbok (중복, middle) and malbok (말복, end). Tomorrow is malbok, which means the summer is winding down!

Hope you get to enjoy samgyetang before the summer goes by. But, don’t worry about it even if you don’t get to, this ginseng soup is a nutritious, comfort food which you can enjoy all year around!

In this post, I’m updating my samgyetang recipe which was originally posted in August 2014 with new photos, answers to frequently asked questions and minor changes to the recipe. Here’s everything you need to know about Korean ginseng chicken soup!

Ginseng for samgyetang

Ginseng is highly prized for its medicinal benefits, including boosting energy and the immune system.

If you can’t find ginseng, you can omit the ginseng from this recipe and still make a tasty chicken soup, although, without ginseng, it can’t be called ginseng soup. When I don’t have ginseng, I make another type of chicken soup called dak gomtang (닭곰탕).

Korean markets around here sell fresh ginseng in the summer for samgyetang. I usually buy a pack and freeze the leftovers. You can also use dried ginseng roots after soaking in the water to soften.

Garlic, ginger, and jujubes (daechu, 대추) are other common ingredients. Jujubes are quite sweet, so do not use too many of them. Sometimes, other medicinal herbs such as milk vetch roots (hwanggi, 황기) are added as well as chestnuts and ginkgo nuts.

For the convenience, you can find samgyetang kits in Korean markets. They usually contain dried ginseng, jujubes, dried chestnuts, sweet rice, etc. If you choose to use a kit, follow the package instructions to prepare the ingredients (such as soaking) before using.

How to stuff the chicken

Samgyetang is made with a small, young chicken (known as Cornish hen in America) for its tender and tasty meat. If you can’t find a Cornish hen, use the smallest chicken you can find, adjusting cooking time. If you need to feed more people, it’s better to cook two small chickens in a larger pot rather than one large one. It takes much longer to cook the inside if the chicken is big, which will cause the outside to be overcooked.

The chicken is stuffed with soaked sweet rice (aka glutinous rice), chapssal (찹쌀). Some people stuff the chicken with ginseng, jujubes, etc., along with the rice, but I boil them in the broth to draw out the maximum flavors. Be sure to leave enough room in the cavity for the rice to expand in volume as it cooks.

How to make the soup more flavorful

In Korea, the restaurants specializing samgyetang are very popular. Some are also highly sought-after by tourists. Those restaurants usually feature a deeply flavored, thickened soup. They use all sorts of medicinal herbs and aromatic vegetables, and start with well-prepared chicken stock to boil the chicken.

At home, we don’t generally go that far. But, if you like a deeper flavor, start with good quality chicken stock (commercially prepared or homemade). I sometimes make chicken stock with the roast or boiled chicken remains and use it as a base for samgyetang.

To make the soup slightly thick, soak more sweet rice than the amount called for the stuffing and then add to the water or chicken stock while boiling the chicken. It would be even better if you blend the rice with a little bit of water for a creamier texture. The starch of the sweet rice will thicken the soup slightly and give a bit of sweetness to the soup.

How to serve samgyetang

At restaurants, the whole chicken is served uncut as one serving, but it can easily be two servings. The soup is usually not seasoned while being cooked. It’s served with salt and pepper on the side, so each person can season the broth to taste and use the remainder to dip the meat in.

The ginseng flavored meat is tasty and tender, and the broth is rich and delicious. Also, the sticky rice stuffing that’s infused with the chicken and ginseng flavors is to die for. If you’re trying it for the first time, samgyetang will be nothing like any other chicken soup you’ve had before.

A classic Korean chicken soup made with a small, whole chicken and ginseng.

Ingredients

1cornish hen(about 1.5 to 2 pounds)

1fresh ginseng root (or dried ginseng, rehydrated)

3tablespoonssweet rice (2 to 3 tablespoons more to boil with liquid if desired)-- soaked for 1 hour (yields about 4 tablespoons soaked)

5 - 6plump garlic cloves

1thin ginger slice(about 1 inch)

2 to 3jujubes, daechu (대추)(dried red dates)

1scallion white part

5 cupsof water (or good quality chicken stock)

2scallionsfinely chopped, to garnish

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Clean the chicken. Do not cut off the neck and/or tail, if they are still attached. They help keep the rice inside the cavity. Place the cleaned chicken on a cutting board or a large plate. Clean the inside of the cavity with a paper towel to remove any blood. Fold the attached neck into the cavity to close the hole.

Stuff the cavity with the sweet rice and a couple of garlic cloves, leaving room (about 1/4 of the cavity) for the rice to expand as it cooks.

To keep the rice inside the cavity while being cooked, use of one of these two methods: (1) Make a small cut through the thick skin part between one thigh and the cavity opening, but not too close to the edge. Then, use your finger to expand the hole enough to fit the end part of a leg. Bring the other leg over, and insert the end part through the hole to keep the legs crossed together, tucking the tail in to close the opening (see the photos above); or (2) Simply cross the legs and tie together with kitchen twine. Tightly close the cavity with a toothpick if necessary.

In a medium size pot, place the chicken and add 4 to 5 cups (or enough to cover most of the chicken) of water or chicken stock. Add the garlic, ginger, jujubes, and ginseng. If the chicken came with the neck that's been cut off, add to the pot. Also add the extra sweet rice to thicken the soup, if using. Blend the extra soaked rice with a little bit of water for a creamier texture, if desired.

Bring it to a boil over medium high heat. Skim off the foam on top. Cover, and boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and boil, covered, for about 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken. See the note.

Serve piping hot with the chopped scallions and salt and pepper on the side so each person can season to taste.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is an update of the original recipe posted in August 2014.

You can also use a samgyetang kit (commercially packaged dry ingredients for samgyetang). Follow the package instructions to prepare the dry ingredients to use in this recipe. Usually soaking is required.

Comments

Are you talking about galbijjim? If yes, I have two recipes on the blog. Your can go to the Recipe index tab, Main dish, and click on the meat. If not, Can you describe it a little so I know which dish you are talking about. Thanks!

oh thank goodness I found your blog! I'm stuck all the way out in the Czech Republic and getting desperate for recipes. I'm excited to try this recipe. Any suggestions on how to make this work in a slow cooker? Thank you Ms. Ro!

This doesn't take that long to cook, so it will be best to be done over the stove top. I haven't cooked this soup in a slow cooker, so not sure how long it will take this small chicken with stuffing inside to cook. Thanks for finding my blog! I hope you find many recipes to try.

Tried your recipe, came out fabulous! I couldn't find fresh Ginseng in the Korean markets in Chicago, so I used dry and soaked per your recommendation.
Also, next time, I would definitely not over-fill the chicken with the sweet rice. With the cooking times from the recipe, the rice wasn't as cooked as I would have wanted it to be.
The cornish hens had a plastic bag filled with the chicken innards. Make sure to check yours for that before boiling!

Hello, I love all your recipes, especially because they're written in English for this Korean-American mom who has a hard time understanding written Korean. :) My question for you is: is sweet rice the regular Korean rice we get in the Korean markets? Is it something different? If so, what's it called in Korean (so I can ask the Korean ladies at the Korean grocery store). Thank you!

You can, but the sweet rice is traditionally used because they stick together. Normal rice will mostly separate in the soup. It will be a little different but I am sure you can still enjoy it. Happy cooking!

Hi, thanks for your recipe.
I am just back from Korea and really enjoyed Ginseng chicken soup there (Tosokchon).
I also brought some fresh ginseng home and would like to try with your recipe.
But, is it safe for children under 10 to eat this chicken soup?

I guess I would like this dish. Once in a while the Chinese merchant I use to buy at has fresh ginseng. I'm going to buy some next time and try this recipe. How exactly is it served? In a bowl from where everybody ladles broth into a personal soup bowl and some of the meat, rice and vegetables? Is there served additional rice?

Is Amazon.com an option for you? Not sure how overseas shipping works, but there's also Hmart.com. Sorry I'm just not familiar with European on-line shopping, but let's hope to hear from other people here.

Sorry not sure. I've never tried the dry one in the instant pot. I'd soften it a little and then try it for the first time. And then, depending on how it turns out, you can see if you need to or not next time. Let me know how it turns out. It'll be interesting to know.